The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1887-09-07

doubtless he sent home his thrilling bul
lctin, ana rac5iter AID sisters Sio1ied Il
his Gashi1g courage and I2;1rTelad at his
wonirous escapes. Poor fel:o"! he nst
his weaknesses. but lie had his virt7,e
and his friends.
HUNTING TH!: DEsEETEEs.
Among the Southern sol>;ierS dut!2s
one Of the least important toward sbt
close OF the war, was that off bringing II
from the bills aud forests and hGbita
tons IN the wilderness desertsrs fr"n.
the armies anl slippery consc,ipts WHO
sought TO evade the service. The cavai
ryman' soul delighted =. this work 10,
awhile. 4 detail f0r such :ssl expedition
meant relaxation from the discipline Of
the camp, exemption from :!!:a harsships
Ct the march, and varie5y n pace of
;rasorle routine. There IVES also a spice
OF adventure. @o- deser:eis wCuia so.-ao-
tines ig&t, though shuiGiug was l2elI
main point. The writer wes oae OF
twenty men, under the command Of 8
lieutenant, seat during the early part of
1864 into Scott ana Lake counties, in
Mississippi, on ran-bunting errand.
Game was sbundant and our officer WAS
provided with formidable list OF these
to be run down. We took a guide from
a 0e;ghborirg county, whose name was
pigue. he knew the country and ne
knew the people, and he went disguised.
His disguise was efectrlal, but his came
must be changed out of consideration
for the future. From pig to shoat was
an easy transition, though something
safer might have been found. Never
theiess, to us be was always Shoat. he
served as faithfully as he had served his
State in the field before being wounded
and disabled. Ho was good guide, and
I hope his neighbors viii not call him TO
account when they read this.
FOUND UNDER TEE BED.
The first house we visited wes WATCHED
in vain for several days. Authentic in
formation SAID there should be two de-
serters thereabouts. Two Of our party
lay all night under the house listening
to the conversation Of tie inmates, bat
not g word was dropped OF advantage 20
our quest. Openly in daylight The
house wes visited and diplomacy used il
vain. The women voula not be led mo
betraying their lords, but received with
keen suspicion and reserve all our ad-
va2ces. Surrounding AID searching the
house in the small hours after midnight
OILY gave US our labor for our pains.
Yet The men were known to be at least
in communication with their homes, aud
our orders 70 take them were imperative.
The visible members of the household
consisted Of e bednGden old woman, two
middle-aged women, and Il small army
of Wnite-haired sciong. 4 second tllac
spies were placed under the holse, ana
about midnight o1e G: thcu came TO tee
rendezvous ard reported thaS lie and k:s
companion had heard whispering over
head, ana believed they had detected a
mans voice. Al once the house was
surrounded and admittsnce demanded.
The door vas opened, and the women
sullenly demanded why we continued 70
persecute them. They asserted IN TIE
strongest terms that the Whereabouts OF
their husbands was absolutely unknown
to them, and declared that they had not
seen or heard of them for months. Dis
regarding all their protestations, we pro
ceeded to turn the cabin topsy-turVy.
The scant furniture Was moved and tue
loft ransached IN vain. Nothing re-
NAMED but the bed on which the he'd
less old woman lay. When called upon
to rise that it might be overhauled, she
wepa and her daughters demonstrated
violently. They vowed that she conid
not get up, and to move her wouli XII
her. The lieutenant approached to Eft
her, when she sprang at him and attack
ed him with the ferocity and celecity Of
q tigress. Leaving him to defend him
self against her long talons, we tore
away the bed clothing, and under the
boards was revealed box-ike structure
wherein lsy the objects of our search.
They were wretcheG, craven-lookln9
creatures and shivered and whined es NE
dragged their limp carcases out.
IN FEMALE ATTIRE.
We watched another house for days
and passed o snail field where two wo-
men cultivated crop of corn. The Ican
We wanted was not to be seen. The
women gave no indications thet they
knew the nature of our errand, but
would talk at any time with apparent
frankness. The wife Of the deserter said
that her husband had abandoned her
and that she and his sister, who lived
with her, had hard struggle to keep the
wolf from the door. We were all but
convinced OF this fact, and should have
been wholly SO but for the direct and
authentic manner in which we had been
informed to the contrary. Finally Ne
were compelled to abandon this case
from sheer lack OF any clew to work
upon, as, in spite Of constant and rigid
espionage, We made no headway and
saw no suggestive action on the part Of
the two wonen. The detective instinct
must have been utterly lacking in every
member Of the squad, for We learned
sometime after that the alleged sister. IL IL
law with whom Gzu frequently con
,aessaS, anI whom We had many times
seen at work in the field, was simply the
deserter himself, clothed in one Of his
wife's homespun gowns.
TERRIBLE SIGHT.
Another case was that OF = man who
had no family. He IVES shaggy,
bearded giant and owned two old ne
2roes, who guarded him aud the secret
OF his haunts with sagacity and fidelity
almost superhuman. His habit was to
lie out in the woods, seldom approach
ing the house, and the negro servants
nt-:.-nS "a ,arar;S, Eo1. G:s llaiir SIS